7 Diet Myths Exposed
Replace those hard-to-swallow suggestions with tips you can use.
March 10, 2012— -- intro: Most of the time, nutritionists and dietitians are full of brilliant ideas that help you eat healthier, stay slimmer, and live longer. But every once in a while, food gurus forget that the rest of us have limited time, funds, and willpower. That's when they spit out wonky bits of wisdom like "Ask your waiter to wrap half your entrée before you start eating." Yeah, he'd be happy to--right after he sticks his thumb in your salade Niçoise. We collected seven of the hardest-to-swallow expert suggestions and replaced them with equally healthy tips that a normal person can actually use. Because unless your name is Jessica Seinfeld, you're not going to spend every second fretting about what goes on your plate.
quicklist: 1category: 7 Diet Myths Debunkedtitle: Chug eight glasses of water a dayurl: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/best-soft-drinks?cm_mmc=ABCNews-_-7%20Diet%20Myths%20Exposed-_-Article-_-125%20Best%20Packaged%20Foodstext: Peeing every 20 minutes seriously interferes with life. Believe it or not, the eight-glass quota isn't etched in stone. Yes, we need to be well-hydrated, but if your urine is clear or close to it, you're probably getting enough fluids. If your No. 1 is neon yellow, lighten things up by adding one or two glasses a day. Once your body adjusts to getting more fluid (and you don't have to run to the can every 10 minutes), add another, says Karen Benzinger, R.D., a dietary consultant in Chicago who specializes in health care. And don't forget that all liquids--including tea, juice, even the tonic in your vodka drink--help keep your body sufficiently saturated.
quicklist: 2category: 7 Diet Myths Debunkedtitle: Don't drink juice--it's a sugar bomburl: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/addictive-sugar-habits?cm_mmc=ABCNews-_-7%20Diet%20Myths%20Exposed-_-Article-_-Is%20Sugar%20Sneaking%20Into%20Your%20Healthy%20Foodstext: There's a big difference between 100 percent juice and a bottle of sugar water with a few cranberries squeezed into it. Yes, juice has a lot of the sweet stuff, but a six-ounce glass of 100 percent juice also counts as a full serving of fruit and delivers many of the same vitamins and antioxidants, making it worth the occasional sugar rush, says Jessica Ganzer, R.D., owner of Ganzer Wellness Consulting in Arlington, Virginia. And it can be the easiest way to get a superfood: Drinking 100 percent pomegranate juice is easy; picking apart a real pomegranate, not so much. As long as you drink 100 percent juice (from concentrate is fine) and limit yourself to one six-to-eight ounce glass a day, you're not breaking any rules of good nutrition. If you're seriously cutting back on calories or carbs, try Tropicana's Light 'n Healthy line; a serving has about half the sugar (10 grams) and calories (50) of normal juice.
Healthy Foods With Hidden Sugars
quicklist: 3category: 7 Diet Myths Debunkedtitle: Shut the kitchen down after 7 p.m. to prevent weight gainurl: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/how-sugar-harms-you?cm_mmc=ABCNews-_-7%20Diet%20Myths%20Exposed-_-Article-_-Curb%20Your%20Sweet%20Toothtext: After a long day at the office and a trip to the gym, you either eat dinner at 9:30 or starve. The no-food-right-before-bed rule was meant for the nighttime nosher who mindlessly wolfs down a bag of Oreos while watching CSI: Miami. If you get home long after dark, a late dinner is perfectly fine. A calorie is a calorie, no matter what time you eat it, according to Katie Clark, R.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of family health care nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. But do keep your evening meal light--along the lines of a chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and brown rice. Too much chow will keep you up at night: To break down all that food, your gut has to churn like a cement truck.
